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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Carnitas

I
made these carnitas while singing and dancing to the UB40 station on Pandora. Cooking
and baking with fun music in the background are some of the things I live for. While
the meat pieces were cooking in the oven and on the stove top, I did some
dishes, laundry, and yoga to kill time. Quite an eventful Sunday afternoon!

Hope
you didn’t get enough of Mexican food this past weekend because I have a great carnitas recipe to share. After reading
Gina’scarnitas pizzaand Adrianna’s mulitas posts last week, I decided that
I needed some meat to nourish my body as I haven’t had any in more than two
weeks. I’m not a vegetarian, but I find the meat sold at grocery stores kind of
gross. First of all, they are not fresh and it makes me sad to think of the way
these poor animals are treated for meat production. It was a big disappointment
to find out that even most of the meats sold at the local butcher shop are
still from the big industrial companies. There is a very meager selection of
good meats from real farmers that they sell. Also, meat is expensive so I
rarely buy it. Anyway because my body was asking for meat (and I felt bad for
poor DFJ being meat-deprived), I stopped at the butcher shop on my home from
work last Friday and got my hands on whatever local meat I could get, 3 pounds
of pork loin.

Handling
the raw pork reminded me of why I don’t like dealing with meat very much. However,
after it turned out into these wonderful carnitas
it was all worth the effort!

Tender,
juicy, flavorful carnitas, with hints
of sweet, sour and a little spicy kick. The combination of cumin, hot spices (cayenne
and paprika) and bay leaf; orange, lime, and the pork’s own juices; and the
onion slices that melt into the meat will turn the pork cubes into taco truckesque deliciousness right in your own
kitchen!

I
used a slightly different method for cooking these carnitas because I don’t have a Dutch oven. Instead of cooking it
in the oven at a steady temperature for a long period of time, I first cooked
it in a glass baking pan and then moved it into a pot on the stovetop and
cooked it on medium low.

Carnitas

Adapted
from More Best Recipes, From the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated

Spices:

1
tsp ground cumin

½
tsp paprika

½
tsp cayenne

1
tsp dried oregano

1
tsp salt

freshly
ground pepper, as much as you prefer

1
bay leaf

1-1½
pound pork loin, cut into cubes

2
cloves garlic, crushed

½
cup water

juice
of 1 medium orange (about 1/3 cup)

juice
from 3 key limes

2
tsp olive oil

2
cloves garlic, minced

1
medium onion, thinly sliced

½
tsp salt

pepper,
as much as you prefer

Mix
all the spices in a small bowl.

Move
the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cut
the pork loin into one inch cubes and move into a glass baking pan. Rub the
spice mixture onto the pork cubes. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic
into the pan. Stir together the water, fresh orange juice, and key lime juice
in a small bowl and pour the mixture into the pan. Put the pan in the oven and
cook for an hour. Halfway through cooking time, remove the pan from the oven
and flip or stir the pork cubes and return to the oven.

Meanwhile,
heat olive oil in a medium size pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot,
sauté the garlic until golden brown. Add the onion slices and let cook for 5
minutes, stirring every now and then. Season with salt and pepper.

After
an hour, turn off the oven and take the baking pan out. Move the pork cubes and
all the juice into the pot of sautéed garlic and onions. Turn the heat down to
medium low and let cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, covered. Stir every 10-15
minutes. After about an hour, almost all the juice will have evaporated. During
the last 5 minutes of cooking time, pound the meat pieces with a wooden spatula.
The meat should be soft enough to fall and tear apart into strands. Turn off
the heat and continue to pound until the meat is torn into shreds.

Serve
on warm tortillas with queso fresco (I used feta, it’s great), guacamole, salsa,
what have you! I even heated up leftover carnitas in a skillet with veggies
(broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, and tomatoes) and served it with rice.

WHAT ARE THESE!! These are incredibly cute, I can't even contain my excitement! Why have I never heard of carnitas before? Why is it that we've all heard of hamburgers and fries, but never of these glorious little things?!

About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!